Server and method of identifying unsupported drives in a server

Abstract

A method of identifying an unsupported storage device on a server is disclosed as including providing the server with a baseboard management controller (BMC), the BMC obtaining vital product data (VPD) from a storage device on the server, the BMC comparing the VPD from the storage device with one or more approved VPDs, and the BMC issuing an output in response to said comparison.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of identifying an unsupported storage device on a server, the method comprising:
 providing the server with a baseboard management controller (BMC), the server storing one or more approved vital product data (VPD), 
 providing a plurality of storage devices on the server, the storage devices each having its respective VPD stored thereon, 
 the BMC obtaining, from each storage device via an inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C) device and an I 2 C multiplexer operative connected to each of the storage devices, at least one piece of the VPD stored on each of the storage devices, wherein the at least one piece of VPD is obtained from each storage device via a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller or a host bus adapter (HBA) controller in the server via a management component transport protocol (MCTP) over peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe), 
 the BMC comparing the at least one piece of the VPD obtained from each storage device to the one or more approved VPD, and 
 taking action at the BMC, via the I 2 C device and the I 2 C multiplexer, to communicate an output, restrict interaction by the server with one of the storage devices, or permit interaction by the server with one of the storage devices, based on the comparison. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storage devices include a serial attached SCSI (SAS) drive, a serial AT attachment (SATA) drive, or a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) drive. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein each storage device is connected to the I 2 C device via the I 2 C multiplexer. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein obtaining at least one piece of VPD comprises obtaining the at least one piece of VPD from each storage device via an NVMe management interface or an out-of-band (OOB) management channel. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein obtaining at least one piece of VPD comprises obtaining the at least one piece of VPD from each storage device via the NVMe management interface over the I 2 C device. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to a mismatch between the at least one piece of VPD from one of the storage devices with the one or more approved VPDs, the BMC issuing an alert to a user. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to a mismatch between the at least one piece of VPD from one of the storage devices with the one or more approved VPDs, the BMC forcing the respective storage device to STANDBY mode by communication via the I 2 C device. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to a mismatch between at least one piece of VPD from one of the storage devices with the one or more approved VPDs, the BMC commanding a processor on a backplane of the server via the I 2 C device to disconnect power supply to the respective storage device. 
     
     
       9. A server comprising:
 a baseboard management controller (BMC), and 
 a storage device, 
 the BMC being configured to obtain at least one piece of vital product data (VPD) from each of a plurality of storage devices via an inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C) device and an I 2 C multiplexer operative connected to each of the storage devices, wherein the at least one piece of VPD is obtained from each storage device via a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller or a host bus adapter (HBA) controller in the server via a management component transport protocol (MCTP) over peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe), 
 the BMC being configured to compare the VPD from each of the storage devices with one or more approved VPDs, and 
 the BMC being configured to take action, via the I 2 C device and the I 2 C multiplexer, to communicate an output, restrict interaction by the server with one of the storage devices, or permit interaction by the server with one of the storage devices, based on the comparison. 
 
     
     
       10. The server of  claim 9 , wherein the storage devices comprise a serial attached SCSI (SAS) drive, a serial AT attachment (SATA) drive or a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) drive. 
     
     
       11. The server of  claim 9 , wherein the BMC is configured to obtain the at least one piece of VPD from each storage device via a NVMe management interface or an out-of-band (OOB) management channel. 
     
     
       12. The server of  claim 11 , wherein the BMC is configured to access and obtain the at least one piece of VPD from each storage device via the NVMe management interface over the I 2 C device. 
     
     
       13. The server of  claim 9 , wherein the BMC is configured to issue an alert to a user in response to a mismatch between the VPD from one of the storage devices with one or more approved VPDs. 
     
     
       14. The server of  claim 9 , wherein, in response to a mismatch between the at least one piece of VPD from one of the storage devices with the one or more approved VPDs, the BMC is operable to force the respective storage device to STANDBY mode by communication via the I 2 C device. 
     
     
       15. The server of  claim 9 , wherein, in response to the mismatch, the BMC commands a processor on a backplane of the server via the I 2 C device to disconnect power supply to the respective storage device. 
     
     
       16. The server of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one piece of VPD from one of the storages device comprises any one of part numbers, serial numbers, manufacturers and product identity (ID) details of the storage device.